Olan Hicks Law of Silence: Discussion
Olan Hicks The Law of Silence
Olan Hicks Ray Downen The Law of Silence
Olan Hicks: Non-Instrumentalists and Pharisees
David Young Minister North Boulevard Church of Christ.
You will grasp in the following response that the issue has been instrumental music, but whether we believe that the Bible is still our authority for faith and practice. And, as Ray notes, how we use that word beyond its intent and introduce divisive practices.
While to the younger generation, things like "commands and examples" as God's ways of communicating His will to us may seem pretty absurd, the Bible and all of church history we are aware of defends this view. Every Methodist, Baptist or Presbyterian stands ready to defend their doctrines by the Bible.
This should not be labeled as legalistic or following a law code. Perhaps we miss the vital terminal event in Irael's history at Mount Sinai and why the priests and Levites were added to keep the common people (now strangers) away from the symbolic presence of god. The Monarchy carried out the sentence conditionally imposed at Mount Sinai. The common people who were approved by God always walked by faith and did not participate in the "like the nation's" rituals which was more muster of draft-age males while the Levitical musicians were under "the commanders of the army" and the king. The Synagogue explicitely outlaws vocal or instrumental rejoicing because that is what caused their fall from grace at Mount Sinai. And how Christ in the prophets interpreted it.
People have always been justified only by faith expressed always, even by Abraham, by oeying God's will for that period.
Re: Ray Downen's E-mail as he understands Olan Hick's views:
Ray Downen: BFL05-99 A "Law of Silence"? Olan Hicks on A Law of Silence: Instrumental Music in Worship -- "When Jesus was on earth He worshipped at the temple where instruments were used and said nothing."
In this way Olan introduces his remarks about the "law of silence" some read into the Bible and use to defend an equally unscriptural law opposing "in church" use of musical instruments.
Not being of the tribe of Levi, Jesus would have been slaughtered if he went into the outer court where the animals were slaughtered. The Levites made noise and not music to "make the lambs dumb before the slaughter." In Greek they were called PARASITES. The slaughter priest who "lifted them up to cut their throats" were called HERETICS. You would find people in the outer court but never IN the temple: Jesus is never said to have gone there to worship. As Christ, He had set up the synagogue as a school of the word and to quarantine the godly people FROM the temple which was dedicated to the worship of the starry host:
The pattern for the Synagogue or Church of Christ in the
wilderness in
fact OUTLAWS "vocal or instrumental rejoicing." That was a law for the
lawless who might think about singing or playing instruments when God's
Word is being taught. This was always the pattern and had not changed
when Jesus came:
Acts 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city
them that preach him,
being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Paul had no trouble understand that as he excluded "self speak" in Romans 14 to enable the synagogue:
Rom. 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak,
and not to please ourselves. [points to rhetoric, singing, instruments, drama]
Rom. 15:2 Let every one of us please his neighbour
for his good to edification. [Education: you don't need a law not to use instruments to teach the Word]
Rom. 15:3 For even Christ pleased not himself;
but, as it is written,
The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
Rom. 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime
were written for our learning,
that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Rom. 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation
grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom. 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom. 15:7 Wherefore receive ye one another,
as Christ also received us to the glory of God
Not in the vilest pagan temple could singers, musicians or preachers enter into the holy precincts. A Levitical musician could not enter into the Holy Place even to clean out the garbage. The Holy Place typified the church or Body of Christ where only those who accept the sacrifice of Christ and are washed could enter into "church." Therefore, no one connected with the church ever went into the temple. They would have assembled under the porches or in the courts where even Gentiles could go.
We doubt that Jesus would define the music (noise) in connection with animal sacrifices as a godly use of musical instruments. Remember that the Law was given because of transgression externalized at Mount Sinai in the form of Egyptian, musical worship of Apis the Bull or Hathor the cow as idols of Osiris.
In fact, because Jesus was not of the tribe of Levi and therefore not an Aaronic priest, He could never enter the Holy Place nor the Most Holy Place. In the true tabernacle in the Spirit realm God meets each individual "priest" above the Mercy Seat under which is the Word of God. Worship by the Christian is in the NEW PLACE of the human spirit as the only place God seeks us.
Jesus laid it down that God is not worshipped in the FLESH and by the flesh:
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. John 4:21
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. John 4:22
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. John 4:23
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24
Paul confirmed this by saying that the Jewish converts now worship only IN THE SPIRIT. This allowed NO SPACE or gaps by which the perverted pagans could enter into our new PLACE of worship:
FINALLY, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Phil 3:1
Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. Phil 3:2
For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Phil 3:3
The Levitical warrior "musicians" were under the king and the commanders of the army. Temple rituals involved both this CIVIL sacrifices along with those prescribed by God for ritual purification which was EXTERNAL ONLY. Otherwise music was the MARK that prostitutes and sodomites were trying to make their way into the collection plates--called TRUMPETS in the later temple.
Ray Downen: He is pointing out that Jesus not once spoke against godly use of musical instruments. At the temple, he opposed turning "holy" ground into a den of thieves. But he didn't see anything wrong with their use of musical instruments there in praising God.
I am not aware that Jesus was ever present when they made animal sacrifices. The "music" was to put everyone outside the gate and was a SIGNAL and not making music. 120 horns tuned to the same note is NOT music. Josephus notes that the Musical Levites were the cause of the loss of the nation and would do it again. They specificially wanted to perform as priestly musicians. The common people were ALWAYS excluded.
When the young girl "died" the musical minstrels had the obligation to perform for her. This was in part to appease the spirit of the dead and to show the respect they did not show in life. They were hired minstrels and could do you a religious festival, funeral or wedding. When they tried to continue in the same room with Jesus He CAST THEM OUT using a term which means more or less violently." The term means also AS ONE EJECTS DUNG. The Levitical musicians were under the civil state. In the same way, the flute-girls or prostitutes in Athens were under the same city official who controlled the cemetary and dung heap.
There are severaly instances where Jesus repudiated music: they PIPED hoping that Jesus would do the perverted song and dance of Dionysus. He called the children because children often led the chorus and were USED by the musical worshipers.
The word "music" is not truly a worship word. Rather, singing or chanting has always been and is still used as a way to teach one another and memorize the Word. The temple practice is often called "noise." In all "like the nation's" temples the noise or "music" was added beyond the Law of Moses. This had the effect in similar temples of driving away the evil spirits while all of the animals were being slaughtered. It had the further purpose of keeping the hostile noises from reaching the ears of the priests. Remember that the Levitical musicians, once warriors, ministered to the priests.
This comes as no surprise because God kept His promise to rescue them from Egypt although His righteous impulse would be to let them self destruct. According to the pattern repeated by Stephen and others, Ezekiel notes:
Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. Ezekiel 20: 7
But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. Ezekiel 20: 8
But I wrought for my names sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt. Ezekiel 20: 9
Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. Ezekiel 20:10
Polluted is:
Chalal (h2490) khaw-lal'; a prim. root [comp. 2470]; prop. to bore, i. e. (by impl.) to wound, to dissolve; fig. to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one's word), to begin (as if by an "opening wedge"); denom. (from 2485) to play (the flute): - begin (* men began), defile, * break, defile, * eat (as common things), * first, * gather the grape thereof, * take inheritance, pipe, player on instruments, pollute, (cast as) profane (self), prostitute, slay (slain), sorrow, stain, wound.
And Jesus had as one goal the disposal of the temple and the dispersion of the Jews. Surely, if music was a godly practice as God Incarnate He would have shown His approval.
The temple had been built by Herod to pacify the Jews. Therefore, he and his successors assumed the right to pick all levels of clergy. The Saducess ran the temple for the Romans and they were the political-civil wing of Judaism. All sectarian Jews consisted of no more than perhaps 10,000. However, they lived by making long prayers and stealing widow's mites and even houses. The Temple was never the spiritual capital but the civil capital of Judaism.
The Temple rituals especially the Feast of Tabernacles was very early recognized as a giant fertility ritual.
Josephus describes the nature of the Temple and the musical Levites who wanted to restore their clergy robes wearing linen garments. This role had been put down according to Ezekiel because the Levites had been responsible for the destruction of the nation. In chapter 40 onward the Levites are demoted from clergy roles back to being servants to the priests. He also defines how Agrippa founded a "seeker center" and sucked up all of the nation's resources.
Jesus made haste to promise tha the temple would be dismantled and the clergy "fired" because they "took away the key to knowledge." By promising to dismantle the legal system of the temple the dismantling of the musical clergy was also promised. Josephus warned about the Levites being destructive to the nation.
The temple was never more than "a place toward which the common Jews could pray." However, they prayed from "outside the camp" during the dedication of Solomon's temple, the playing of the Levites caused the temple to be filled with darkness so that the priests "could not minister." Not to worry: God heard the people's prayers directly from heaven.
If the temple had spiritual value Jesus would have allowed it to stand. However, it along with a million Jews were destroyed along with their musicians and instruments. This is a "paradigm" repeated by the first King of Babylon and Tyre as well as the end-time Babylon form of religion (Revelation 18). Modern Jews are still searching for the instruments.
Ray Downen: remarks on his web site which is here quoted -- "You can read remarks by Olan Hicks about "the law of silence" on this web site. The "law" of silence is an invention of men who suppose that God speaks best by what He chooses to NOT say.
KEN WRITES -- We respectfully submit that this interpretation is made up out of "silence" and is not the view of churches of Christ about instrumental music which seems to be the focus of a growing attack of anti-ism. And yet, Jesus said that God is silent to those who do not love the truth. He said that He spoke in parables "from the foundation of the world" to hide the truth from the Jewish clergy (Matthew 13; Isaiah 48). The Israelites were blinded at Mount Sinai as a result of musical idolatry. The law given "because of transgression" is silent about the people worshiping with congregational singing and instrumental accompaniment.
The instrumentalists did and do use THE LAW OF SILENCE knowing that they are deliberately sowing discord: "The Law does not say, 'don't use instruments' so we gonna use them SPITE OF HELL." Instrumentalist are also the only ones who use INFERENCES to infer that "if it produces sexual feelings in the paying audience then it must feel good to God."
But, God is NOT silent about Music. We have reviewed Dwaine E. Dunning and proved that the ONLY events which are corporate are defined by Paul using a SYNAGOGUE-type word. The only WORSHIP was giving heed to the READING or SPEAKING "that which is written, the Spirit or the Word of Christ which is Spirit and Life." John 6:63. The elders were LAWFULLY proscribed from teaching anything that HAS NOT BEEN TAUGHT.
It is this CLEARLY DEFINED synagogue or teaching Scripture which is SILENCED to say that God never said ANYTHING about music.
See how Al Maxey misses the point: the musical sectarians invented the law of silence. Because the Bible is shot through with a repudiation of music to attack God or the "worshipers" they have CLAIMED that God is SILENT. Then, using circular reasoning, His silence is authority to do what God clearly outlaws. We will show that any reader cannot miss the point that Jesus commanded and the rest of the Bible confirms that "worship" is in the new PLACE of the human spirit as it, in Paul's only worship word, give heed to the Word of God. God is not worshipped in temples made with human hands. Therefore, it is the old shell game for unlawful preachers to keep up the divisive chatter about "laws of silence" for something which is clearly identified OUTLAWED by direct command of God in Christ.
Those who ADD something contrary to the view of the Bible and church history held en toto are the heretics and Sectarians.
Many scholars note that David developed a new law respecting ritual which differed from that of Moses which was to regulate the lawless. This is consistent with the prophecy that the kings would take the lands and people and give them to His "team." The young males would make the instruments of warfare and "instruments of chariots." These were musical trumpeter slaves who ran before the chariots of all "like the nation's kings."
In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul said that they would remain blind and deaf until they turned to the Lord.
This "law of silence" is well documented in the Bible along with "direct commands and examples."
Ray Downen: replys: And that's enough for anyone to understand the position Ken feels is good and godly. His study on his web site continues at great length to expound on what is here said. Olan has pointed out why we think God never speaks by keeping silent. Ken disagrees and thinks that God creates laws by what He does not say.
Well, not what I said: God is able to express himself fully in a positive way and does not leave "oversights" or silences with which He makes laws. We could never logically exclude instruments if Paul had just said "worship God by 'psalloing.'" However, a song or psalmos is metrical and automatically can be read, chanted, sung or sung with an orchestra. If you want to remove the silence the Old Testament practice would add "upon a harp" if an instrument was intended.
However, if we we so like the Pharisees that we would PEDDLE our knowledge we MIGHT ask a school boy who understood the Koine Greek and he would say: "No, mister, psallo is not a musical word!" Like, wow, mister. Don't you know that you PSALLO John's HEART right out of his chest by twanging a bow string to send a singing arrow at him! Blow a flute! Mister don't you know that even Athene threw away her end -blown flute when she grasped the image! Shucks, mister, if you get any MUSIC out of psallo it is because you PLUCK the bow string and it "sings." But, you cannot DO it with a plectrum so where do you get the music stuff? And you cannot even strum and do psallo: you have to grasp the string, pull it and let it go! Can't you see that this is what you do when you attack the enemy. Why, Aaron says that psallo is like "grinding the enemy into a fine powder." You know, kinda like the SOP Jesus hand fed Judas to mark the entrance of Satan. Why, even if you pull out the hair of the enemy, it goes THWANG!" And, I remember from alley rat Greek that people SHOOT OUT hymns. That's where you get that MUSIC stuff. Hey! That new church meets down the street and they just SPEAK the Old Testament Psalms just like the "school boy READS the hallel."
So! Churches of Christ do not use the Law of silence to hear God speak about not using instruments. If we know what to do and make God happy then we are not tempted to use the Law of Silence and the Law of Moses as authority for Christian worship.
The fact is that the Bible makes a powerful point that God is a competent communicator and He often warns us not to change or add where He has expressed His will.
Strong delusions are around when you hear Paul used the word SPEAK which means PREACH or TEACH or ADMONISH and translate it SING.
Or if Paul puts the MELODY in the heart how can you read the words and hear melody on the harp?
The fact is that EXTERNAL odeing carries a destructive meaning. It means to CREATE MENTAL EXCITEMENT where SPEAKING does not as the word LIFTED UP means to "carry you away."
Again, mister, since you are still trying to make music with that BOW, the word MELODY or Psallo speaks of twanging bow strings to send SINGING arrows into the literal heart. The word PSALLO was never a MUSICAL term. In fact the Greek definition EXCLUDES the plectrum which directs us back to the literal bow. The originator of the bow is said to be Apollo who is the Abaddon or Apollyon in the book of Revelation. The Muses in the legends John knew very well were known as LOCUSTS or musical performers.
> Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon
Psall� [psa�]
I. to touch sharply, to pluck, pull, twitch, Aesch.; toxou neuran ps.
to twang the bow-string, Eur.; belos ek keraos ps. to send a shaft twanging from the bow, Anth.; so, schoinos miltophur�s psallomen� a carpenter's red line, which is twitched and then suddenly let go, so as to leave a mark: Ouch! My first archery.
Look again to see whether this is charismatic celebration of one's own carnal senses in MAKING MUSIC.
Apalgeo (g524) ap-alg-eh'-o; from 575 and algeo (to smart); to grieve out, i.e. become apathetic: - be past feeling
Only in a secondary sense does the word mean to PLUCK with the FINGERS. The defined act is PLUCKING and not the resulting MUSIC.
II. to play a stringed instrument with the fingers, not with the plectron, Hdt., Ar., Plat.
And only LATER to sing to a harp:
2. later, to sing to a harp,
And in the New Testament SING:
sing, New Testament
This can have no application to wind instruments or percussion instruments.
Similar Latin:
revello, velli, vulsum or volsum, 3, v. a., to pluck or pull away, to pull or tear out, to tear off or away (freq. and class.).
I. Lit. be torn away, remove,
II. Trop., to tear away, send away injurias honorificis verbis,
Signum: A sign, signal; a watchword, password, given by a wind-instrument.The Phrase belos ek keraos ps. to send a shaft twanging from the bow
belos [ball�, as Lat. jaculum from jacio]
1. a missile, esp. an arrow, dart, bolt, Hom.; of the rock hurled by the Cyclops f shot, Il.; so ex� bel�n Xen.
2. like enchos, used of any weapon, as a sword,
3. the agana belea of Apollo and Artemis in Hom. always denote the sudden, easy death of men and women respectively.
4. after Hom. of anything swift-darting, Z�nos bel� the bolts of Zeus, thunderbolts, Aesch.; purpnoun b. id=Aesch.; bel� pag�n the piercing frosts, Soph.:--metaph., ommat�n belos the glance of the eye, Aesch.; himerou belos the shaft of love, id=Aesch.; of arguments, pan tetoxeutai belos id=Aesch.
Sure, mister, I know that you probably been visiting that temple-brothel down the street. That's probably where you got the musical -- shaft of love stuff. But, mister, you may be far gone but you had better not try to take a literal HARP into the Holy Place or the synagogue: they will "make melody" on you real good.
Again, non-instrumental churches do not use the "law of silence" but the direct command of Paul guided by Christ the Spirit into all truth. Paul defined "teaching" exactly like the synagogue which had no instruments nor praise service. You can "take that to the bank."
However, others are forced to use the law of silence to introduce mechanical instruments into Paul's direct command which defined the "voice" as the first "instrument of choice" in the word psalmos.
He spoke positively about "organic" melody and was silent about mechanical melody. This external melody implies "grinding to powder" and is like the "sop" Jesus fed Judas.
To add mechanical melody (melody is not harmony) you are forced to believe that Paul's silence is permissive and therefore becomes the Law of Silence to permit that which Paul has truly defined away.
Going further, the silence has to be so deafening that it is adequate to overcome sowing discord and dividing the brethren.
In Romans 15; Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 Paul defined the only way a diverse group can assemble and not fracture like a hand grenade. That direct command with no silences is that we can "all speak the same things" only by using the Words of the Spirit as our resource.
If we add artificial stimulus to our "worship" God does not have a law which says, "I will get you for that."
However, we have made the conscious decision to sectarianize and restrict our fellowship to those who argee with us.
Each believer has 167 other hours to believe or teach or practice anything they wish. However, men like Paul, John Locke and Thomas Campbell defined "worship" in terms of reading and explaining the Word just as in the synagogue approved by Jesus. This permits every possible viewpoint to fellowship weekly without sowing discord.
The moment you use the Law of Silence and instroduce instruments or replace the commanded "one another" assembly with a clergy class of musician and speakers you fractionate the assembly into clergy and laity. While this may entertain some, the general view is that performance is a put down of those who have not learned how to perform the most works-intensive form of worship known to mankind. The "works of man's hands" to play an instrument was noted by the Classical writers as "works" which was added to singing. And, surprising, only the lower classes performed theatrically because this was work.
All of the non-instrumental position is derived from the direct statements of Scriptrue and do not depend on silence.
Ray Downen replys: Most Bible students realize that the New Covenant of Christ is vastly different and superior to that of Moses. God did speak through Moses and through various prophets. The writer of Hebrews contrasts God's former ways with the new way when God now speaks through His Son. The new way is far better than the old.
We need to stress the fact that the "Covenant of Grace" was rejected by Israel at Mount Sinai when they "rose up to play." This word means what it meant when David played and went naked with the servant girls which, he admitted to Michal, was to "make himself vile" in the common superstition that God cannot punish the insane.
God IS NOT SILENT when the Spirit of Christ prophesied that Judas would attempt to triumph over Jesus. This includes using the Warrior instruments to try to cause Jesus to panic or BOW in the perverted form to prove that He was the clergy's anticipated Dionysus as their wine, women and music messiah.
Jesus died to remove the burdens and the burden laders. The burden is "spiritual anxiety created through religious rituals." On the other hand, Jesus invited the twos and threes to COME LEARN OF ME. That is because He did not build a temple but an ekklesia or synagogue or school of the Bible. The REST Jesus died to give us i almost totally used to speak of STOPPING or SILENCING the preachers and musicians.
Pauo means stop the polemos or battle
Pauo means: STOP the: mel�id-ia , h�, singing, chanting,
Pauo means: Stop the pain of: aoid� [aeid�]
Pauo means: Stop the Thamyris, a Thracian aoid�
Pauo means: Stop the: klang�
Pauo means: Stop the: Panos orgai panic fears
Pauo means: Stop the Dancing Pauo means: Stop the Sorcery.Read the rest to prove that MUSIC as worship of a Spirit God is HERESY.
Don't take this as disparaging a spiritual, godly person: God made it clear that the king and kingdom were violations of His will and He would allow the king and kingdom to destroy the nation which earned their loss as God's "blessing to all nations" when they became ecumenical in Egypt.
David was called "a man after God's own heart" only in his youth or in "his earlier ways."
Not part of the Old Covenant but in contradiction to it, the Israelites lost the covenant of Grace by musical idolatry:
"The triumphal hymn of Moses had unquestionably a religious character about it; but the employment of music in religious services, though idolatrous, is more distinctly marked in the festivities which attended the erection of the golden calf." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, Music, p. 589).
This is not a law to us, but the spiritual, New Covenant mind understands that music and idolatry or "like the nations worship" at the temple were contrary to a walk by faith even under the Law. Therefore, the masses did not "go to church and sing with instruments" but were kept away by the Levitical musicians who were like flaming cherubim keeping the people away.
The "Spirit of Christ" condemned this and sentenced the performers to die in the wilderness.
The "Spirit of Christ" was rejected by this self-directed musical idolatry. Therefore, we need not look for a law but look to the Spirit of Christ as He sentenced Israel to captivity and death. This sentence was simply delayed by the Monarchy period which is called "experimenting with the idolatry of nationhood."
The Book of the Law was added because of this return to Egyptian, musical idolatry. Thereafter, the Monarchy perios was a "like the nations" period when Israel went their own way to destruction.
It is the writer of Hebrews who stresses a different form of worship. Now, Christ has replaced all of the horrors of animal sacrifices. And instruments were part of the legalistic code which introduced instruments during animal sacrifices for a "like the nations" temple. Remember that although David was a great poet and harp player, none of this took place until after His death when the "like the nation's" temple was given as a concession, according to Stephen, although God doesn't live in houses. Among other statements this got Stephen killed.
When the Jews lost Jerusalem and the temple they know that there was no legitimate rationale for instruments. They were not introduced agaom until AD 1815 and it sowed discord even then and took them to the law courts.
By knowing that music (noise) in the worship connection had meanining only in Canaan, at the Temple and connection with animal sacrifices and then in connection with national dedication or purification or plague-stoping rituals, the Jews did not need a Law which said: "Thou shalt not continue to use instruments."
The accompanying "sacrifice" for the New Covenant is "the fruit of the lips."
Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. Hebrews 13:13
For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Hebrews 13:14
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. Heb.13:15
The common people's congregation was put "outside the gates" or outside the camp when animal sacrifices. Now that Christ has replaced the legal code of instruments and sacrifices, going to Him outside the camp means without instruments where the common people did not "worship" but gathered to hear from God through His Word. Praise is not a legalistic, law-code ritual but a continual telling others about God.
Ray Downen replys: The new covenant is not a code of laws. Christians are not led by the hand as little children but we are now set free as mature sons and daughters of God. Those who search the New Testament for laws by which church affairs are to be controlled search in vain. All the commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences in the world can't make the New Testament into a code of laws. Search as we will through the Bible and we find there no law code for the church of God.
That is a fact. The Law of Moses was a code of laws. However, Abraham was justified by faith---
because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws." Genesis 26:5
ADDING instruments to peacable churches which had rejected them for 2,000 years was IMPOSING A LAW upon them often literally expressed as: get with it or get out.
And Adam and Eve were condemned because they violated the commandment of God long before the Law Code wrote it down and attached a penalty.
You see the "Law Code" had no redeeming value because it was to acknowledge the horrors of sin without ever receiving a clear conscience. However, the "people's congregation" which was not permitted in the temple and therefore did not worship with "congregational singing and instrumental accompaniment" still obeyed such laws as: "Thou shalt not kill."
The code of laws as modified by David is the only remotely-possible place one can find any justification for instrumental music.
Instrumentalists from the Tower of Babel onward, however, have believed that music has a purifying effect on people and that the gods are mediated by the musical instruments in which they were believed to live--as David believed that God lived in a box.
Some of these events look like they "played instruments every Sabbath. However this is the telescoped view. Some of these recorded events are separated by over 400 years. This would be like reading about instruments in King James court and not hearing again until the year 2000. We would be hard pressed to find a pattern there.
Furthermore, the general Jewish historical view is that playing instruments on the seventh-day sabbath was prohibited because it was totally "works oriented." Some of the festivals prohibited sacrifices by the people on both the FIRST day and SEVENTH day. On these days they were to REST and hold a holy convocation. That meant to READ the Word or to REHEARSE it. The Qahal or assembly or synagogue or "church in the wilderness" prohibited the "blowing of instruments and 'making a joyful noise before the Lord'" because this was the Warrior's panic sounding and NOT ever music. Remember that the Levitical musicians were under the king and commanders of the army and never under the priests.
It is not obeying a law NOT to do something which is appealing to the flesh of most people. Keeping a law is something you do: not something you don't do because you have no hint that God wants it and hordes of information that He repudiates it.
Playing instruments is usually justified solely on the basis of its typical or shadow use under the Law Code. But Christ our Passover does not need to get sacrificed all over again.
We believe that the message about silence was extended to include Christ.
After Israel refused to listen to God at Mount Sinai God promised that in contending for the faith in the time of Jesus:
I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. Deut 18:18
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. Deut 18:19
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name,
which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. Deut 18:20
Jesus qualified Himself as that prophet and was therefore believed because He respected the silence of the Father and refused to speak or do anything He was not told or shown by the Father.
This is not a law. If you don't follow Jesus and Paul and speak psychological or Post-Modern sermons on Sunady God is not going to kill you. That is the meaning of a law code: it has a penalty.
However, if you don't imitate Christ by speaking His Word then you break the train of communication from God. The people might be entertained but they will not believe you.
And Paul's direct command was not to "sing." Rather, the very audible command was to "teach or preach" the revealed Word of Christ or Spirit and leave the melody in the heart where it doesn't stir up the flesh and contention.
Ray Downen replys: There was no "law of silence" even in the OLD Testament. It's a figment of the imagination of men who love laws. God SPOKE to reveal Himself and His will for His people then. He specified exactly what they could and should do, and what they must not do. The Old Testament contains numerous regulations, both as commandments and as prohibitions. Not one of them is based upon what God did NOT say. Every one of them is based upon what God DID say directly or through a selected human spokesman.
You must remember that the "Law of Silence" is not Ken's term. We are reviewing Olan Hick's charge that the non-instrumental churches of Christ use the "law of Silence" in order to exclude instrumental music. His further, quite strange, charge is that the non-instrumentalists were the first to discover that when God speaks in a positive sense He may not prohibit but He does not give Divine permission to violate that communication.
That
could hardly be the fact
when none of the Restoration Movement nor their "ancestors" as
Methodist, Baptists or Presbyterians used instrumental music. You
simply cannot make a law to exclude
what you never
included. The Disciples NEEDED a law to authorize what they really neaded to "keep up with the Jones" in the rich north.
A FEW OF THE DOZENS OF WARNINGS: And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits (Old, empty wineskins), and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter (these people used musical devices and said that the gods lived inside of them): should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? Isaiah 8:19
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word,This is Christ speaking through the Prophets to repudiate the Civil-Military-Clergy complex who did NOT follow the Law of Moses because there is no command for music in the Law. Besides, God calls it noise.
it is because there is no light in them. Isaiah 8:20
The musical prophesiers (often women as in 1 Cor 11:5) had seminars and "stole prophecies from one another." What they spoke was what God was silent about. We believe that this is a law of silence but it is not needed to reject instruments which was always a part of "prophesing" in the musical sense.
Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. Jer 13:9
This evil people, which refuse to hear my words,
........which walk in the imagination of their heart, [twisted]
........and walk after other gods, to serve them,
........and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. Jer 13:10I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying,
I have dreamed, I have dreamed. Jeremiah 23: 25
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies?
yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Jeremiah 23: 26
Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, w
hich they tell every man to his neighbour,
as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. Jeremiah 23: 27
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream;
and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully.
What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. Jeremiah 23: 28
Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Jeremiah 23: 29Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets,
saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Jeremiah 23: 30Behold, I am against the prophets,
saith the Lord, that use their tongues,
and say, He saith. Jeremiah 23: 31Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord,
and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness;
yet I sent them not, nor commanded them:
therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 23: 32Isaiah 29:13 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder:
> for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
> and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Isaiah 29:141Cor. 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;The pattern for the Synagogue or Church of Christ in the wilderness in fact OUTLAWS "vocal or instrumental rejoicing." That was a law for the lawless who might think about singing or playing instruments when God's Word is being taught. This was always the pattern and had not changed when Jesus came:
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Cor. 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
1Cor. 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe?
where is the disputer of this world?�
hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1Cor. 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God
the world by wisdom knew not God,
it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath,Sophis-t�s , ou, ho, master of one's craft, adept, expert, of diviners, Hdt.2.49; of poets, meletan sophistais prosbalon Pi.I.5(4).28 , cf. Cratin.2; of musicians, sophist�s . . parapai�n chelun A.Fr.314 , cf. Eup.447, Pl.Com. 140; sophist�i Thr�iki (sc. Thamyris) E.Rh.924, cf. Ath.14.632c: with mod
II. from late v B.C., a Sophist, i.e. one who gave lessons in grammar, rhetoric, politics, mathematics, for money, such as Prodicus, Gorgias, Protagoras, a quibbler, cheat, a RHETORICIAN as the primary meaning of a HYPOCRITE.
hoi s. tōn hierōn melōn” A sophist, serpent, makes MUSICAL MELODY with a congregation AS a harp and cannot grasp that IN THE HEART is a place.
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day;
and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable;
and shalt honour him,
not doing thine own ways,
nor finding thine own pleasure,
nor speaking thine own words: Is.58:13
Acts 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city
them that preach him,
being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Paul had no trouble understand that as he excluded "self speak" in Romans 14 to enable the synagogue:
Rom. 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak,
and not to please ourselves. [points to rhetoric, singing, instruments, drama]
Rom. 15:2 Let every one of us please his neighbour
for his good to edification. [Education: you don't need a law not to use instruments to teach the Word]
Rom. 15:3 For even Christ pleased not himself;
but, as it is written,
The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
Rom. 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime
were written for our learning,
that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Rom. 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation
grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom. 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom. 15:7 Wherefore receive ye one another,
as Christ also received us to the glory of God
The use of instrumental music at Mount Sinai was filling in God's silence. The "like the nation's" worship under the kings is acknowledged to be "a different law than God's book of the law" which said nothing about instruments.
"The main function of music in the early times of biblical history were social merrymaking, maritial noisemaking, magic incantation, and worship. Merry-making in particular was the main function of music during the age of patriarchs and judges (e.G. Gen. 31:27; Exod. 32:17-18; Judg. 11:34-35), sometimes even licentiously practiced (e.G., Isa. 23:16). (The Int. Std. Bible Dict., p. 457).
"Although in its earliest stages, or as related to certain activities, it may have been little more than noise making, music accompanied work, worship, merrymaking and military activities (Gen. 31:27; Exod. 32:17; Jud. 11:34; ...with the collapse of the walls of Jericho, the enthronement of kings, music for the court, and for feasting, as well as for the restoration of prophetic gifts, and the soothing of personality disturbances. These latter two instances superficially seem to belong to the psycho-musical realm, or the blatantly magical." (Zondervan Pict., Music p. 312).
The laws regulating the secular Temple were based on silence in God's laws given with the demand not to "veer off either to the left or githt." No, God's commandments are not based on silence but the violation of God's laws were often based on God's silence.
Another important event was the contest between Jezebel's prophesiers and the quiet Word of God through Elijah:
"We know that Canaanite prophets were organized in guilds centered on the larger sanctuaries, as, for example, 'the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred,' with whom Elijah had memorable dealings on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). Similarly, Israelite cultic prophets were to be found in and around the sanctuaries, roving about in rowdy troops, working themselves up into frenzies by dancing and music,
and uttering semi-coherent oracles
which the credulous accepted as divinely inspired." (Heaton, E. W., Everyday Life in the Old Testament, p. 221, Scribners)
During this event God did not issue a command against the universal meaning of musical prophesying: "Thou shalt not charismatically prophesy with instruments." However, the Spirit of Christ allows us to see a cause and effect and we are just not tempted to look for loopholes of silence.
I We noted that this Word made certain was from the "prophet like Moses" whom they would heed. The proof is there that the Israelites did not listen to God and therefore their worship rituals are not suitable for those who listen for the Word of Christ and not His silences.
Clement of Alexandria
That's what Peter said and warned against private interpretation or further expounding which would mark the false teacher.
- b. AD 150, Athens
- d. between 211 and 215
Clement Pedegogue Vol III Commands, Examples and Inferences Chapter 3
But what is loveable, and is not also loved by Him? And man has been proved to be loveable; consequently man is loved by God. For how shall he not be loved for whose sake the only-begotten Son is sent from the Father's bosom, the Word of faith, the faith which is superabundant; the Lord Himself distinctly confessing and saying,
"For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me; " and again, "And hast loved them as Thou hast loved Me? "What, then, the Master desires and declares, and how He is disposed in deed and word,Plainly, then, the other kind of discourse, the didactic, is powerful and spiritual, observing precision, occupied in the contemplation of mysteries.
how He commands what is to be done, and forbids the opposite, has already been shown.
But let it stand over for the present.
Now, it is incumbent on us to return His love, who lovingly guides us to that life which is best;and to live in accordance with the injunctions of His will, not only fulfilling what is commanded,or guarding against what is forbidden,but turning away from some examples, and imitating others as much as we can, and thus to perform the works of the Master according to His similitude,and so fulfil what Scripture says as to our being made in His image and likeness.For, wandering in life as in deep darkness, we need a guide that cannot stumble or stray; and our guide is the best, not blind, as the Scripture says, "leading the blind into pits."
Commands, examples and inferences may not be the way to understand the Will of God. However, one must admit that this is not a non-musical absurdity.
We can go on and on to prove that honoring God's silence is not a latter-day invention of churches of Christ.
Because that is one of the most provable facts of Scripture and church history, we propose that any quest for unity is fruitless while the non-instrumental position is presented as a view devoid of Biblical authority or almost-universal scholarly approval.
Ray Downen replys: It's good of Ken to write down his thinking and ask us to consider it with him. But a better way to seek common cause is to ponder the teachings of Jesus, who has delivered the better word from God. His Way is not the same as the Old Way. We learn about the way of Christ in the New Testament, not in the Old. In Jesus we can find salvation. In Moses we are led into ways of death rather than life, for law brings death and never life.
Christ spoke through the prophets and defined the way for the spiritual people in the synagogue: He defined the future church in great detail and in most of the prophets condemns the music of the temple sect.
That is true. We have noted that Jesus addressed the instrumental music issue in several ways. We noted that it would be with instruments and "singing praise songs" that Judas would attempt to triumph over Jesus. The Dead Sea Scroll version of Psalm 41 makes it clear that the Jewish clergy "stood in the gap" to panic Jesus with the musical instruments which were, after all, assigned by the king and the commanders of the army for the civil-religious temple state and never for congregational worship.
We also noted that Jesus ejected "more or less violently" the musical mourning team playing instruments. Lenski noted that this life-giving event needed the dignity of silence. Furthermore, Jesus refused to go up to the opening of the Feast of Tabernacles because it would be a great musical jubilee while the Jewish clergy was "standing in the gap" to find their Messiah to murder Him. See how Psalm 41 shows how this would be fulfilled.
These views from the Dead Sea Scrolls along with the Synagogue proves that the overwhelming majority of Jews had long ago praised God with the "harps of God" which are allegorized as the "fruit of the lips."
The Spirit of Christ inspired the Old Testament and He was the Manna and the Rock when Israel committed musical idolatry at Mount Sinai.
Christian liberty is primarily relief from the burden laded upon the backs of the people whom they used like pack animals. This burden was "spiritual anxiety created by religious rituals." Liberty is not freedom to make a new law which says that God has no will in how we worship now that we are Christians.
On the other hand, the only way to impose instruments or even modern "a cappella" is to restore the Law Code which David changed from the unalterable Law given by God.
Aside from animal sacrifices and the universal practice of pagan idolatry, music simply has no meaning as worship. "Music" in the New Testament is a secular term related to secular feasts adn the demise of the end-time Babylon, harp-playing Mother Goddess.
Ray Downen replys: I urge you to consider carefully (in Proper Bible Understanding) the suggestions of Seth Wilson concerning how we mortals can learn God's truth by proper understanding of the Bible.
The first thing that you'll learn to discard is the method of Bible study which searches for "authorization" through "commands, examples, and inferences." That would be good if the New Testament were also a law code. But it is not. Until we each understand that simple fact, we'll waste our time by speaking past one another with our varying views.
I WONDER WHEN GOD IN CHRIST GAVE UP HIS AUTHORITY TO INSTRUCT SETH WILSON? DOES SETH COMMAND?
I don't know Seth Wilson but I would suggest that there is no New Covenant or historical evidence for such a "law of interpretation." If we a priori reject God's commands, examples and inferences there simply is no objective way to arrive at truth unless we are inspired Christs (re Henry Blackaby) or the "13th Apostle." We do not accept these rules as valid. Nor would most mainline denominations.
After the sowing of massive Discord the Disciples discovered the PSALLO word which they said means that GOD COMMANDED the use of instruments. I bet that Seth Wilson thinks that Psallo commands him to add instruments.
However, it is the very new Vineyard or Post-Modern (Post Biblical) view. For instance, Paul Cain notes that:
"God's raising up a new standard, a new banner, if you will, that's going to radically change the expression, the understanding of Christianity in our generation...God has invited us to have a role in establishing a new order of Christianity...
God is offering to this generation something He has never offered to any other generation...
beware lest old order brethren rob you and steal this hope from you." (Paul Cain, "You Can Become the Word!", 1989, Vineyard Prophetic Conference) (See Experiencing God to become new Christs)
The Post-Modern "hermeneutic" of the Latter Rain (or Latter Reign) asks:
"Are you having difficulty discerning or receiving this "new revelation"?Then you have been interpreting your Bible in the "old way,""If this describes you, then you belong to the "Old Generation"
comparing Scripture with Scripture, studying diligently to account for every jot and tittle and being careful to rightly divide the Word of truth.which will not enter in to "possess the land" in the Latter Rain Revival.Paul Cain advises that you "dump all that carnal stuff" (doctrine)
You may even be a member of a denominational church, with its dogmatic confession of faith and statement of doctrine.These legalistic forms will be relics of the past in the up and coming "Post-denominational Church."and listen to what the "spirit" is saying to the churches through the Latter Rain Prophets and Apostles, who are dispensing many "new, sacred truths.
While God gave us lots of liberty that does not exend to cutting Him out of the decisions.
To give up on God's continuing right to command us by His express word is to make the entire Word of God of non effect and imagine that Christ died to allow us to work our our own way in which to honor Him. He truly gave few rules but adding instruments would have our liberty bought by Christ plunged back under the Law which was not evil but which addressed only the external senses. We need to emphasise: the authority for instruments depends almost totally upon the "like the nation's" sacrificial system "given because of transgression" and this transgression was "musical idolatry."
The Bible explicitly demands throughout that God communicates his Will by commands. If He is prohibited then how does He express Himself? All of church history recognizes these ways for God to express Himself and it was not invented by non-musical churches of Christ. Only the "high church" which is a Disciples spin off from Anglicanism which is Catholicism gives itself the liberty to modify. But even the Catholic Encyclopedia totally agrees with the non-instrumental view about music.
Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians recognized this spiritual Biblical principle long before Alexander Campbell was born. One suspects that most Baptists and Presbyterians still remain faithful to this clear Old and New Testament principle which is not remotely related to the Law of Moses or a Law Code.
At least one must admit with all of the historical evidence we can quote, that non-instrumental churches of Christ did not invent the Law of Silence just to reject instrumental music which did not exist in any of the groups which formed the Restoration Movement.
Ray, I respectfully sugmit that if the pattern, however sincere, for understanding the Mind of God is your friend, you might be right and he might be right and the Bible and the world's scholarship might be wrong. However, the "law" of the Restoration Movement which has always been recognized is that in order to have a united fellowship you have to strip away all of the human appendages and just use the Word--not for patterns but as the final, ultimate curriculum for Christ's communites.
If liberty gives us the legal right to get around the clear evidence about instrumental music it would seem to me that Paul in Romans 14 restricts our liberty when it despises one brother or judges another by introducing into that tiny window on eternity called Sunday Worship Hour anything which offends. I don't know of anyone who is offended by singing congregationally where the singing is notably better in many groups. However, you despise or judge others by imposing what Paul identified as "lifeless instruments" or "carnal weapons" (same Greek word for wepon and instrument as well as in Hebrew). This tells them that you can dispense with their membership in the body in the interest of adding what has been called "the lust of the ears."
Romans 14 is based on the Orphic Vegetarian sect in conflict to the Dionysic Meat eater, wine drinker sect influence. Both induced that "spiritual" feeling with instrumental music.
In Romans 15 Paul will define teaching teaching in the same way he defines "singing." The way not to despise or judge is to acknowledge that Christ bought us all and therefore he shows the way to prevent stumbling.
WE then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities (diseased scruple) of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Romans 15:1
The word PLEASE or PLEASURE which is Anti-Christian is:
Aresko (g700) ar-es'-ko; prob. from 142 (through the idea of exciting emotion); to be agreeable (or by impl. to seek to be so): - please.
Airo (g142) ah'ee-ro; a prim. verb; to lift; by impl. to take up or away; fig. to raise (the voice), keep in suspense (the mind); spec. to sail away (i.e. weigh anchor); by Heb. [comp. 5375] to expiate sin: - away with, bear (up), carry, lift up, loose, make to doubt, put away, remove, take (away, up).
This word is directly related to ODEING and even to HERESY.
Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification . Romans 15:2 [Music doesn't teach]
For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. Romans 15:3
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4
Might we remotely INFER that that which is written by Twila Paris is NOT what God wants us used for our DISCIPLING or EDIFICATION? If so, they didn't the Spirit of Christ wast His time?
If you just teach the Word as it has been delivered to you then you will not make your brother stumble. "But everyone has their own opinion." Well, opinions give way when we follow this mandate to "abide in the light" which is to follow the Word which is "for our learning." When the word is put through what Albert Barnes calls "sermonizing and versifying" the Word comes out totally incoherent and 20 years in "bible class" leaves most people just confused and that was the design of Satan in many of the ancient writings such as The Book of Enoch.
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. John 15:9If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love;
even as I have kept my Fathers commandments, and abide in his love. John 15:10These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. John 15:11
Can we infer that we can REJECT His commandments and abide in His Love? Sure. The issue is not COMMANDMENT KEEPING but obeying the Law of Moses. And it is to the Monarchy period that you have to go to find little David playing on his harp and probably playing with the servant girls and he went naked in a musical procession.
Sorry bout that. But we just cannot give up the authority of Christ through His Word (Spirit). Rather than being part of a law code, silence confesses that Christ's positive statements in both Covenants gives us an unlimited resource for learning. Most importantly as Paul notes in his "singing" passages which are really more teaching by limiting ourselves to the Word of Christ (Spirit in Colossians) we can be united during that short interval on the Lord's Day.
Then, we are perfectly free to sing about any way we wish just as David played his harp for personal devotion rather than a mediating clergy person.
Tertullian noted that:
For such is the power of earthly pleasures, that, to retain the opportunity of still partaking of them,
it contrives to prolong swilling ignorance, and bribes knowledge into playing a dishonest part. To both things, perhaps, some among you are allured by the views of the heathens who in this matter are wont to press us with arguments, such as these:(1) That the exquisite enjoyments of ear and eye we have in things external are not in the least opposed to religion in the mind and conscience; and
(2) That surely no offence is offered to God, in any human enjoyment, by any of our pleasures, which it is not sinful to partake of in its own time and place, with all due honour and reverence secured to Him.But this is precisely what we are ready to prove: That these things are not consistent with true religion and true obedience to the true God. Tertullian De Spectaculis
And John Locke Letter of Toleration:
ON THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN DOCTRINE AND LIFE
Therefore doctrine and life should be distinguished as sharply as possible.Doctrine belongs to God, not to us; and we are called only as its ministers.
Therefore we cannot give up or change even one dot of it (Matt. 5:18).
Life belongs to us; therefore when it comes to this, there is nothing that the Sacramentarians can demand from us that we are not willing and obliged to undertake, condone, and tolerate.
We believe that when God speaks on a spiritual issue or tells us what He wants done this does not leave us free to do all of those things which He has not said not do.
There are direct commandments to use INTERNAL MELODY or GRACE: that probably excludes External harping or fluting where the same word can mean to "steal your inheritance, play the flute, pollute or prostitute."
One had to invent an INFERENCE that the direct commandments and warnings from the garden of Eden to Revelation 18 DO NOT mean what they say.
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Discussion of Non-Instrumentalists as Pharisees
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